Everything Changes
by AZGirl
Summary: The way Jack says those four words stops him in his tracks. Mac's gut twists and he has this odd feeling everything is about to change. In another reality, this is how George Eads' character, Jack Dalton, leaves the show.


**Spoilers:** Some dialogue taken from episode 2.12 Mac + Jack, written by Lenkov, O'Neill, and Slack.

 **A/N:** When I heard that George Eads/Jack Dalton was leaving the show, my brain started coming up with various scenarios for how that might happen back in early December 2018. One of them stuck in my head enough that I decided to write about it. It's going to become AU fairly quickly, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Story posted before episode 3.14 has aired in the U.S.

.

 **Warning** **:** Possible triggers. For spoilery details, please see the very end.

.

 **ooooooo**

" _There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart_." ~~~~~ Mahatma Gandhi.

 **ooooooo**

Mac, with two beers in his hands, is walking out the door, and about to step foot on to the stairs to the deck, when he hears a phone ringing.

When it cuts off, he hears Jack say, "Hello." As Mac continues up the stairs, Jack pauses before continuing, "This is Jack Dalton."

The way his best friend says those four words stops him in his tracks. His gut twists and he has this odd feeling everything is about to change.

"What?! Are they alright?" Another pause as Jack listens to the voice on the other end of the line.

Mac knows something bad has happened and he needs to be there for Jack come what may. He takes a deep breath and finishes climbing up the stairs onto the deck just as his friend's face crumbles, devastation written all over it.

"I see." Jack says, wiping a hand down his face. Mac moves to stand next to the older man. They lock eyes for moment before Jack asks, "And my sister? The kids?"

The question sends his gut twisting yet again as Mac hopes Jack's little sister and the kids are alright.

Jack listens for nearly two minutes before he says, "I'll be there ASAP," and hangs up his phone.

After that, things take on a life of their own.

There is no question that Mac would accompany Jack back home to Texas. In fact, Mac is on the phone with Matty requesting leave for the two of them before Jack could even shake off the shock of the news he'd just received. When Matty asks to speak to Jack, Mac finally learns what happened.

It was a car accident. Jack's brother-in-law, Rick, was driving when someone who was texting on their phone ran a red light and plowed into the driver-side of the car. The collision caused a secondary impact with a telephone pole on the front, passenger side. Rick had been killed instantly. Jack's sister, Angie, was in critical condition and continuing to deteriorate. Jack's nephews were doing much better by comparison: lacerations due to broken glass, broken bones, and concussions. Both boys were expected to be discharged in the next couple of days.

Matty offers up the Phoenix Foundation's jet, knowing that a commercial flight might make them arrive too late for Jack to see his sister for what may be the last time. Jack's gratitude is effusive, and they take a few minutes to grab their go-bags, thankful Jack kept a spare in the hall closet, and shut up the house before they're on their way to the airport.

While in the air, Jack is restless, but after several attempts to get his friend to calm down, Mac decides remaining close by is the only way he can help for the moment.

As they continue to fly east, Mac realizes the full implications of the telephone call. Rick's father, Dean, was the one to call Jack, who was listed the boys' guardian if something happened to their parents. If Angie did die from her injuries, Jack would become his nephews' sole caregiver. Dean would be able to help out, but given his age, the help would be limited. Jack and Angie's mom had passed away several years ago, and Dean's wife passed when Rick was in college. Which meant…

Jack would be leaving.

There was no way Jack could continue with the Phoenix Foundation, with being his partner, when he had two young boys to care for. At best, if Angie survived her injuries, then Jack would be on an extended leave of absence. At worst, if Angie passed away, then Jack would have to retire and move back to Texas. Either way, Jack was leaving.

If the worst happened, Mac's first thought was to suggest Jack should eventually bring the boys back with him to California, but ultimately he knew that wasn't feasible. Given their lives as agents, and the psychos still after them, for the sake of his nephews' safety, it would be best if Jack remained at a distance from them and the Phoenix and completely out of the spy game.

Which left him without his best friend and partner.

Immediately, Mac felt guilty for being so selfish while Jack's life was imploding.

ooooooo

Jack can't help but feel like his life is imploding. All it took was one phone call.

One phone call and his life might never be the same again.

His sister…his little sister…

Jack was having trouble wrapping his head around the idea that Angie might die. That his brother-in-law had already died due to some stupid college kid who thought texting-and-driving was the way to go on a busy roadway. He hopes the college kid is rotting in Hell right about now for being so distracted while driving.

And his nephews… They were lucky to be alive, but that luck was only going to go so far. They'd already lost their father, and most likely were about to lose their mother. Jack wonders if the kids have been allowed to visit her, and then wonders if that was a good idea. He'd have to figure that out when he got to the hospital.

When Nick was born, Angie had asked him to be the kid's guardian should anything happen to her and Rick. Of course he'd agreed, certain that nothing would ever happen to his baby sister and despite the fact he had a dangerous job. Little Cole being born 25 months later didn't change anything in his mind other than having an additional nephew to spoil at Christmas time.

Now the heavy weight of that request was settling upon his shoulders. If, God forbid, the worst happened…he would have to leave his old life almost completely behind.

He couldn't be an agent and care for two little boys. He couldn't even move them to California and depend on his friends' support and help while raising them. It was just too dangerous; he would have to get out of the spy game for good.

The full realization of that hit him full on. He would have to leave Mac and Riley behind. He'd already done that once with Riley and had promised himself he would never do it again. It was just one more promise he'd be breaking since he'd always promised himself he would always protect Mac. And now he was going to fail in that regard as well.

He knew Mac would understand why they couldn't be partners any more. He just hoped Mac wouldn't think that meant they were no longer friends and family.

ooooooo

Of course Mac understood the necessity of Jack leaving his life in Los Angeles behind – of leaving _him_ behind. As they traveled by car to the hospital, it was all he could think about.

But he was not the only one being left behind; Riley didn't know it yet, but she would have to suffer the loss of her father figure yet again. They'd long ago patched up things between them, and had been getting along very well since then, but Mac couldn't help but wonder if that might change. He hoped not. And he hoped things wouldn't change between him and Jack despite the distance between them.

Once they arrived at the hospital, it was another whirlwind of action, before Jack was standing outside of his sister's room, hesitating to go back inside.

The doctor had just finished giving his best friend an update about Angie's condition. In the past hours, it had deteriorated again; it likely wouldn't be long now.

Jack's nephews had just been escorted out of their mother's room by their grandfather, having been allowed to see her one last time. Jack had been great about explaining what was going on to them, focusing on giving them the courage they needed to see their mother in such grave condition yet expertly handling their emotional breakdown. All the while, Mac could see that Jack was doing his best to appear composed and in control, knowing the man had to be strong for his nephews when inside his brother's heart was breaking.

Now that the boys were on their way back to their room, Jack's shoulders slumped before he took a deep breath and opened the door. Mac stepped in with his best friend and made his way to the back of the room, uncertain if Jack was truly aware of his presence. He sat in a chair out of the way, while the older man settled at his sister's bedside, holding her hand. He could hear that Jack was talking but he made no effort to listen to the one-sided conversation. Mac's goal was just to be there for Jack even if he felt completely useless in every other way since the older man had first received the news about the accident.

Mac was uncertain how much time passed before he heard a sound that could only mean one thing. The machines monitoring Angie's condition suddenly started wailing, indicating the once-irregular rhythm was now completely flat.

He was up out of his chair and by Jack's side before he even realized he had moved. Putting a hand on Jack's shoulder, he tugged the obviously-devastated man out of the way of the doctor and other medical professionals who had suddenly flooded into the room. Mac put his arm around Jack's shoulders as they watched the doctor do her best to revive Angie, but the attempts were unsuccessful. Jack's sister was gone.

Jack turned to look at him; tears were running down the older man's face. All he could think to do was to draw his friend into a tight hug, and contemplate how nothing was going to be the same again.

ooooooo

With tears running down his face, and enveloped in a tight in hug from his best friend, all Jack could think was that his sister was gone and how much his life was going to change.

Sitting at his sister's bedside and holding her hand, he'd quietly told Angie how he would do his best to raise his nephews into fine, upstanding men, a process already started by their parents. He talked about their childhood, how grateful he was to have a little sister like Angie, and how much he loved her. Jack also asked her to say hello to their parents when she saw them and that it was okay for her to go to them now.

Finally, his voice gave out, and he did his best to think only of happy memories, love for his sister, and reassurances he would never let his nephews forget how much their parents loved them.

One moment he was thinking about the last Thanksgiving he'd spent with his sister, and the next, the monitors started going crazy, screaming at him that his sister had just flatlined.

He flinched at the hand which landed on his shoulder barely seconds later, having almost forgotten that Mac had been a steady presence in the room with him. A slight tug and they were backing away from his sister's bed in order to allow the doctors to work on her. In his heart, he knew their actions would be futile and that his baby sister was gone.

When Angie was pronounced dead, he looked at Mac, feeling a torrent of tears sliding down his cheeks. In the next moment, he was being hugged by his best friend.

Jack had no clue how long they stayed like that, but eventually he realized he had to go break the news to his nephews and their grandfather. When he stepped back from Mac, he was approached by the hospital staff regarding next steps.

From then on, events just seemed to blur together. His mind was still controlling his body, but Jack would later be unable to recall even half of what happened after his sister had passed away.

Eventually, he was sitting, keeping watch over his nephews while they slept. He'd sent Dean home however long ago, and though exhausted, Jack couldn't seem to settle down enough to sleep. It wasn't where he was or the extremely uncomfortable chair – he'd experienced both multiple times before – but rather, he thought it was his natural desire to protect those he loved had kicked in to high gear. He knew he couldn't have prevented what happened, but Jack still felt as if he had failed to protect his sister like he'd promised to do back when she was in sixth grade, and Angie was being bullied by one of the boys in her class. Jack had already found himself reaching for his non-existent gun more than once when a nurse came to check on his nephews.

He'd been surprised Mac hadn't tried to get him to leave, but then again, the kid had been on the receiving end of his protective urges enough times to know he shouldn't try to interfere with them. In fact, other than making him eat and drink something, Mac had been a steady, calm presence in the room with him, only talking when necessary and allowing him the space he needed to begin dealing with the recent tragedy and upheaval in his life.

Mac had taken over a chair positioned in such a way that the younger man was watching his and the kids' six while still being within Jack's sightlines, having not been more than a dozen steps away from him since they'd left Los Angeles. He'd seen Mac texting more than once, and figured that the rest of their odd, little family knew what had happened. He was grateful for Mac's presence even if he hadn't yet had the capacity to express it.

When Dean came back, the older man insisted they go and get some rest. He couldn't bear to be too far from his nephews, so he and Mac had got a room at the hotel down the street from the hospital.

He remembers entering the room, but doesn't ever recall getting into bed.

ooooooo

From the way Jack crashed pretty much the moment the hotel door was closed, Mac doubted the man would remember much of anything past leaving the hospital, let alone getting into bed fully clothed.

Mac had easily recognized his friend's behavior back at the hospital. Jack was clearly in a hyper-vigilant version of his Overwatch mode, keeping an eye on his nephews as if someone was about to attack or kidnap them. More than once, he'd seen Jack reach for a gun that wasn't there when a nurse came in. After the first time it happened, Mac made sure he was also always within Jack's sightlines. Knowing how Jack reacted anytime he thought he failed to protect someone, Mac could understand, and had previously experienced, the behavior.

After all the years of Jack watching over him, Mac felt it was his turn to do the same for his partner. Making sure Jack was eating and staying hydrated, keeping their little family updated, and even just remaining close by as a hopefully-reassuring presence; it was his way of being overwatch for his best friend.

Doctors, hospital administration, police, morticians, funeral directors, lawyers, and more. As they dealt with everything to come at them, the next days were hectic and exhausting – both physically and emotionally, especially for Jack. Throughout it all Mac remained by Jack's side, helping out where he could.

Since that fateful phone call, neither he nor Jack had talked about how things were going to be changing. How they would no longer be partners. The awareness was there, a weight upon both their shoulders, but still things, perhaps too much, were being left unsaid.

The boys were home from the hospital, and the funeral was coming up soon. Matty, Bozer, and Riley had arrived that morning to provide support and to help out in any way they could with the boys and the funeral arrangements. At lunch time, Matty had kicked the two of them out of the house, ordering them to take a break during the relative calm before the storm.

They'd grabbed something from a deli and ended up at a nearly-deserted park. Mac had the feeling Matty had not only wanted them to take a break but to also talk about the upcoming changes to their lives. A change he had a feeling was coming far more quickly than either of them wanted.

Silently, they finished their lunch and were sitting watching the ducks and Canadian geese swim around in the small pond nearby when Jack suddenly blurted, "I'm sorry, bud."

Mac couldn't think of anything Jack had to apologize for. "Jack… You have no reason to be sorry."

"Yes, I do!" Jack suddenly stood and started to pace back and forth next to the bench they'd been sitting on. "I'm leaving you without any overwatch, leaving you without a partner out on missions. I know Bozer and Riley are great agents in their own right, but I won't be there for you the next time Murdoc or some other psychopath—!"

"Jack!" Mac went to stand in Jack's path. He gripped his friend's shoulders and lightly shook the man to get his attention. "Stop." When Jack opened his mouth again, Mac interrupted. "No, Jack. No. You've have _nothing_ to be sorry for. You hear me?"

"But—"

He let Jack go and held up a hand. "No. I mean it. None of this is your fault. You are leaving for the best of reasons – family. We will _always_ be partners, brothers, family no matter where we are in the world, no matter how much or how little we keep in contact with each other. You got me?"

Jack looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes. "Yeah, I got ya."—Jack sighed—"I know you've been on missions without me before, but after what happened to—"

"I get it. You're feeling a little overprotective right now."

"Yeah," Jack said, his voice sounding slightly shaky. The older man ran a hand through the short stubble on top of his head, and took a couple of steps back towards the bench. "It's more than that, Bud. I keep having this nightmare…"

Mac followed Jack, motioned for him to sit, and quietly said, "What nightmare?"

Jack looked out over the water and didn't respond for some time. Finally, his friend said, "The how changes every time, but the why is always the same – I wasn't there for you, man."

"You can't think like that, Jack. Besides, think of how many times we almost died, even when we were together. That's not a dig on your skills, dude, but rather a reminder that a situation can go completely FUBAR at any time.

"Though you won't be there with me on missions any longer, you'll always be here"—he pointed at his head—"and here"—he pointed at his heart—"with me. You've taught me so much about life, about spy craft, about friendship and family, and so much more. You'll always be my partner even if you aren't in the field with me."

His best friend bowed his head, and he heard a sniffle.

"Are you crying?"

Jack stood and started walking towards the car. "Naw, dude. Deltas don't cry."

Mac stood and followed his friend, knowing he'd seen a tear run down the older man's face before Jack had surreptitiously wiped it away.

Suddenly, Jack did an about face and caught him up in a crushing hug. They stood that way for a long moment before Jack loosened his grip and took a step back. Jack placed a hand at the juncture of Mac's shoulder and neck, squeezing gently and not saying anything.

Riley and Bozer have long joked about their co-dependence, and they'd be right to a certain extent. They had long learned to completely depend on each other and could practically read each other's minds on occasion because of that dependence.

Jack's actions said everything neither of them was capable of saying aloud. Mac lifted a hand and grabbed Jack's forearm, giving it a gentle, but firm, squeeze, acknowledging he'd received loud and clear, the message that had been conveyed – gratitude, love, pride and so much more.

His best friend quirked a half smile and nodded before he squeezed one more time and let go, resuming his walk towards the small parking lot. Mac quickly caught up with Jack and they walked side by side the rest of the way to the car.

ooooooo

As they walked side by side to the car, Jack felt as if he was a motley mass of emotions. The talk he'd just had with Mac, it had been sorely needed ever since he'd realized their unparalleled partnership was soon going to end.

Now that they'd talked through things, Jack felt marginally better about no longer being his best friend's overwatch. He knew he was still going to have nightmares about things going horribly wrong because he had not been with Mac, Riley, and the others, but Jack hoped those fears would diminish over time.

He needed to remember to ask Mac and Riley to start sending him proof-of-life texts fairly often. He was sure Riley would be able to come up with a secure way to communicate if she put her mind to it. Even if it was just one word or an emoji, he would be fine with that. He'd still miss his kids like crazy, but he'd feel a little better about being so far away from them.

Driving back to the house, Jack recognized he needed to have a heart-to-heart with Riley as well. He wanted to be certain Riley understood he wasn't leaving her behind the same way he had done when she was kid. While he was not going to be with her on a day-to-day basis, he would still be available to talk whenever she wanted or needed. Jack knew he wasn't the best at praise, but he also wanted to make sure Riley understood how proud he was of her and that she had grown into an amazing young woman and agent.

They had nearly made it back to the house when Jack said, "Mac… You'll watch over Riley and the others, won't you? Take care of yourself too?"

"Of course, Jack. I promise to do my best to bring us all back home safe every time."

"I know, man. I think I just needed to hear you say it."

The following day was the funeral. Having to bury yet another member of his family was something that had him wanting to crawl into bed and sleep for a hundred years or sit and drink a good bottle of whiskey – or both, though not necessarily in that order – but he had his nephews to think about. He'd lost his baby sister and brother-in-law, but they had lost both their parents and had been injured all within 24 hours. Their lives had irrevocably changed, and time would tell if he could be a decent father-figure to them.

Mac had been his shadow since he first woke up and had been by his side the entire day, only leaving it to use the bathroom. Jack was extremely grateful for his best friend's help and support, and thought it was the only thing getting him through the day.

He'd noticed Mac's mood deteriorating since before the funeral, but had attributed it to his friend having to deal with emotions and memories brought up due to the loss of his own mom at such a young age.

That might have been part of it, but it wasn't the only reason. The main reason reared its ugly head soon after the funeral ended.

He'd had Dean take his nephews back to the house; due to the boys' injuries, Jack decided to skip having a reception after the private burial. He wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a lot of food dropped off over the next couple of days, knowing how many friends his sister has…had.

As he thanked attendees for coming, he noticed Matty was getting more and more phone calls and more and more frustrated, though she was doing a good job hiding it. Bozer and Riley were less able to hide their feelings, and Mac seemed determined to ignore what was going on with their friends. From the younger man's expression, Jack finally clued into what was going on.

There was a mission, and they had to leave. And leave ASAP if Matty's expression was anything to go by. His heart broke all over again. Jack wasn't ready to let his friends, his family go on without him.

Finally, the five of them were left alone, and Jack was watching the workers fill in the graves of his brother-in-law and little sister. He couldn't help the tears that started to run down his face. Mac was next to him, a silent yet solid presence, who handed him a tissue when he needed it.

"Mac," Matty said.

"Not. Yet."

The intensity behind Mac's reply surprised him, but Jack couldn't let some innocent suffer – or whatever the mission was – because his best friend was determined to stay by his side until the very end.

"Mac, it's okay. I understand if you have to go."

"No! It can wait 20 more minutes; we can make the time up in the air."

Jack looked back at Matty, who nodded that they could wait just a little longer. Jack could've kissed her for the gift of extra time.

Riley came to stand on his other side, and he put an arm around each of his kids' shoulders as they continued to watch the graves be filled in. Both Mac and Riley leaned into him, and he could tell saying goodbye was going to be one of the hardest things they've ever done.

He knew he was prolonging the inevitable, but Jack decided to drive with them to the airport. Matty and Bozer drove in one car, while he had Mac and Riley in his rental.

As they drove, he started rambling about how they needed to be careful, to take care of each other, warnings of what not to do, and on and on. These were his final minutes with Mac and Riley, and he wanted to impart the wisdom he'd gained in all of his years as a soldier and spy, wanting to make sure they were prepared for whatever was coming in the future now that he was no longer going to be watching their backs.

At the airport, standing near the Phoenix jet, Jack said goodbye to Matty and Bozer, hugging each one in turn.

Then, it was Riley's turn. At least this time, Riley knew why he wasn't going to be around anymore, which made this parting slightly less devastating for both of them. They hugged and she promised to work on a secure way to stay in touch. He wiped away her tears, told her to stay safe, and they hugged one last time before she turned to board the jet.

Mac was still standing by the car, looking at the jet as if he were contemplating not going with them and staying behind with Jack.

As much as Jack wanted Mac to stick around, he knew it wasn't possible. His nephews needed him, but the world needed Mac.

He walked over to his best friend, and said, "It's time, Mac."

Mac continued staring at the jet. "I know."

Jack held his arms out. "Come here, Brother."

Mac collided with him and they hugged as if they were never going to see each other again. Jack refused to believe that was even remotely true.

"You know this isn't the end, right?" The arms around him only tightened. "Hey now, this isn't goodbye. We'll see each other again soon. You got me?"

Mac didn't say anything, instead nodding into his shoulder. Finally, Mac released him and stood back, revealing the tears on both their faces. In concert, they hurriedly wiped their faces off with their shirt sleeves.

Before Jack could say anything else, they heard Matty calling Mac's name from the jet's entryway.

Mac bowed his head and took a deep breath before looking up again.

With a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes, Mac said, "I'll see you around, old man."

"Not if I see you first, wonderkid."

Mac started walking to the jet and he followed several steps behind the kid. "I think you mean _wunderkind_ , you opinionated, loudmouth knuckle-dragger."

"I know what I meant you scrawny, blond-haired know-it-all."

This time the smile did reach Mac's eyes – if only barely.

When Mac started up the stairs to the jet, Jack said, "Stay safe out there, Slick."

"I will, if you will, _Slick_."

And then Mac was onboard the jet, and he had to step back towards his car so the aircraft could taxi towards the runway.

Jack watched the jet take off, and continued to track its path until it got too small to see any longer.

As he was about to get into the car, Jack had a feeling Mac needed to hear from him one more time, so he sent the younger man a text he hoped would help.

Several minutes later, he heard his phone chime that he had a text from Mac – it was the paperclip emoji. Jack chuckled when he saw it, knowing he'd done the right thing by sending that text.

Though Jack would always be worried for their safety, he knew Mac, Riley, and the others would take care of each other. Yet, if there was ever a time they ever really needed him, he would move mountains to be there for them, and that made not being by their sides something he could live with.

ooooooo

The idea that he might not be there for Jack when the older man truly needed him was not something he would tolerate and refused to accept.

Yet, Matty had informed him it might have to happen if the situation the Phoenix Foundation was being asked to step in on escalated. She had cornered him on his way to the bathroom, and told him of the mission.

Mac had outright refused to leave before the end of the funeral. Matty had insisted they might not have a choice, and he'd said they could go without him if the situation was that time sensitive. However, it was looking as if his skills as an EOD and his ability to improvise were going to be needed, so Matty backed down and said she would try to buy them some more time.

He didn't say it out loud, but Mac had no qualms with quitting the Phoenix Foundation again if they tried to get him to leave while Jack still needed him, and he thinks Matty knows it.

With the pending mission, and the thought he was soon going to have to say goodbye to Jack, plus the memories of his mom's funeral ricocheting around inside of his head, Mac felt his mood plummeting and tried to hide that fact from Jack. Considering how well Jack knew him, Mac guessed Jack was aware something was going on with him. He just hoped his issues wouldn't interfere with his ability to provide support to Jack.

More than once during the funeral, Mac had noticed that Matty touched the pocket her phone was being kept. From the number of times her phone went off, the situation was worsening, and they were needed ASAP.

Matty tried to get his attention as Jack thanked people for coming to the funeral, but he refused to acknowledge her. He continued to ignore her signals that they needed to go even as the workers began to fill in the new graves.

When she said his name, Mac fiercely refused to leave Jack's side. Jack needed him more than anyone else at the moment.

In a selfless, sacrificial act so typical of Jack, the older man told him he understood if they needed to leave, but Mac wouldn't have it. They could wait until Jack was ready to leave the cemetery.

Mac knew it was prolonging the inevitable, but Jack decided to accompany them to the airport, insisting that he and Riley ride in the car with him. Almost without ceasing, Jack rambled on and on about anything and everything regarding being a spy, including imploring them to be careful out on missions.

Mac stood by the car while Jack said goodbye to Matty and Bozer first before turning his full attention onto Riley. He turned his head away and focused on the jet, recalling every statistic he knew about it as a means of distracting him from the fact that he was moments away from having to say goodbye to his Overwatch, partner, best friend, brother, and sometimes father-figure.

He heard Jack approaching, but refused to look at his friend. Maybe if he continued to focus on the plane, he wouldn't have to concede that this chapter in his life was ending.

When Jack held his arms out, Mac couldn't refuse the comfort they were offering. Most of the time they showed their affection towards each other through fist bumps, but the past several days, they've hugged more than in the entire time they've known each other. Not that he was complaining; Jack always gave great hugs. Mac couldn't help but think this would be the last time they would be doing this.

When Jack called him out on his thoughts, Mac's answer was to hug his brother tighter. Mac knew Jack was right; this wasn't truly the end. They would see each other again someday – even if he had to quit the Phoenix Foundation to do so.

As he stepped back, he realized both of them had been crying, and hurried to wipe the tears off of his face, Jack doing the same. So much for Deltas not crying – or ex-EOD's for that matter.

Matty calling his name broke the illusion that he wasn't about to leave his best friend and brother behind.

Instead of goodbye, he settled on: "I'll see you around, old man."

His words kicked off a volley of remarks which stretched all the way back to the first time they had ever met back when Mac thought he only had to deal with an opinionated, loudmouth knuckle-dragger for 64 days. Sixty-four days which turned into seven years and counting.

Boarding the jet, he snuck a glimpse back at Jack who was walking towards the car so the jet could taxi towards the runway.

As the plane gained elevation, Mac began to feel insecure about continuing on the job without Jack. He wasn't sure he could face the dangers of being an agent without his Overwatch by his side.

Yet again, Jack proved just how well the older man knew him. Not long after the doubts had started to creep in to his mind, his phone chimed.

It was a text from Jack.

 _You've got this Bud. Go. Be great._

Mac smiled and sent back an emoji of a paperclip.

Though Mac would always worry about keeping the others safe, he knew Jack would be there for them if they ever truly needed him, and that made not having his partner right by his side something he could live with.

ooooooo

" _Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends_." ~~~~~ Richard Bach.

 **ooooooo**

 _The end._

 **ooooooo**

 **A/N:** I chose texting-and-driving, a form of distracted driving, as the cause of the accident for multiple reasons. The main one is to bring awareness to the problem, especially after a police officer in my home city was recently killed because someone was texting-and-driving (crossed two lanes on a freeway and hit the officer as he was conducting a routine traffic stop).

 _*About 25% of all motor vehicle crash fatalities are attributed to distracted driving, which includes texting while driving.*_ Please don't do it; you can wait a few minutes to answer that text or check your favorite social media site. It might just save your life – or someone else's.

Many thanks to Celticgal1041 for proofing! Any remaining mistakes are Murdoc's fault.

Disclaimer: MacGyver is not mine. I'm just borrowing the concepts and characters for a little while.

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_

 _ **.**_

 **Trigger Warning** : Minor characters killed as a result of a car crash caused by inattentive driving due to texting and driving.


End file.
